Classroom traveler cart

ABSTRACT

A cart designed for use by personnel who travel from place to place with heavy equipment. The cart is characterized by external shelving suitable for use with equipment that requires an external power source, and internal shelving for general storage purposes. The design allows easy assembly from a knock-down version of the cart.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to the art of storage equipment and,in particular, to storage equipment which is suitable for itinerantpersonnel who are required to carry heavy and bulky equipment from placeto place.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It has become a burdensome task for school personnel such as musicteachers to move to different classrooms during the instructional daycarrying necessary equipment which may comprise instrumental, electronicand reference materials. Music teachers have become more mobile inconducting their day-to-day teaching tasks due to the lack of classroomavailability due generally to a burgeoning school enrollment.

The market place has addressed the above-described needs of musicteachers but they are found to be unsatisfactory as a result of the easewith which prior art carts may be tipped over.

Since the above problem has not been satisfactorily addressed withrespect to the needs of music teachers, they have had to rely uponaides, students and their own devices to provide the necessary supportthat is required to facilitate their task.

The present invention has been designed to allow the mobile musicteacher to operate in an independent mode without relying upon othersfor assistance. Accordingly, a cart has been devised which is easilymaneuverable, has adequate capacity for internal and external storagepurposes and includes a power source for providing energy to supportelectronic equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cart of this invention, when used by music instructors, is designedto allow for facile transportation of electronic keyboards, amplifiers,woodwind instruments and peripherals in a school setting that does nothave a music facility available.

An adjustable handle is provided upon one end to allow for easy steeringand pushing of the cart from class to class by either the adultinstructor or a student aide. A caster system having wheels that arepivotable in the rear and non-pivotable in the front is furnished inconjunction with the adjustable handle to aid in the facile steering andpushing of the cart.

A top shelf, which is edged for safety purposes and to preventaccidental sliding of equipment onto the floor, is at a height to permiteasy access to an electronic keyboard by the instructor during theteaching of a lesson. Alternating current is also furnished to power theelectronic keyboard as well as other electrical equipment.

An additional shelf that is adjustable in height is located under thetop shelf and serves to store materials required by the teacher duringthe execution of his/her work. Doors are provided in the front of thecart to hide the shelf contents whereas the back is left open for easyaccess.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved travel cart.

It is another object of this invention to provide a traveling cart thatis particularly suited for use by music teachers.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a traveling cartfor easy assembly and disassembly from its component parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mobile cart of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the various parts and their location withrespect to one another.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, there is depicted in FIG. 1 the cartdevice 10 of the invention, which is found particularly useful to musicteachers who must move from classroom to classroom during theinstructional day. Normally, schools of a district include a room formusic instruction where the assigned teacher remains throughout the dayand the students are assigned there during various time periods. This isthe conventional practice in the music arts, since the teacher maintainsall instructional materials, text books and keyboard instruments in onelocation. However, when there is a shortage of classroom space themobile music instructor is inconvenienced and burdened as a result ofthe various items that must be carried from place to place.

As may be seen in FIG. 3, the cart 10 is characterized generally by abox-like structure, which has a rectangular cross section of eighteenand one-half inches in width and forty-three inches in length. Thetopmost shelf area 25 of the cart is three feet in height, and isforty-one and one-half inches in length by twenty-nine inches in width.In addition, the shelf 25 includes an outwardly extending surface ofeight and one-half inches for supporting various electronic equipment,which requires a source of power from multiple receptacle 26. Theoutwardly extending surface of top area 25 serves as a convenientrepository for an electronic keyboard which may be easily andconveniently accessed by the instructor. The top surface 25 issurrounded by edging 40,43 which prevents the equipment from fallingonto the floor due to an accidental bumping or disturbance.

Wheels are provided in the form of casters 21, 23 for moving the cart 10from place to place with minimum effort. To assist in this endeavor ahandle 24 is attached to a side panel 17 for steering, pulling andpushing purposes. In order to prevent damage due to unintentionalbumping into moldings and door frames, a material 8c such as rubber orthe like is furnished around three of the four sides along the bottom ofthe cart 10. In particular, the bumper material 8c is applied to anextending ledge whose purpose will be clearer in discussions relating toother figures of the drawings. The cart 10 also includes an adjustableshelf 30 by means of typical side mounted brackets 33, 34.

The box-like cart 10, as seen in the exploded view of FIG. 2, includesin addition to the top shelf surface 25: a bottom side panel 29, whichalso serves as a stationary shelf; sides 17, 18 and front panel 9, whichincorporates doors 11, 12; in addition, the adjustable shelf 30 isintegrated into the cart structure below the top shelf 25. The frontpanel 9 is the side that faces the students and hides the materialslocated within the cart upon shelves 29, 30 so that they do not become adistraction. The back side of the cart, which is the side where theteacher stands facing the students, is open to allow for easy access tothe stored materials located upon shelves 29,30.

In order to allow the cart 10 to be moved from classroon to classroom,casters 20, 21, 22, 23 are located at its four corners. The casters 22,23 which are located under the front side, are a non-swivable typewhereas the casters positioned under the rear side are swivable. Thisallows the person, who positions himself/herself behind the push-steerhandle 24, to guide the cart 10 through doors with relative ease.

The view of FIG. 2 further illustrates how the various panels andshelves 9, 17, 18, 25, 29 and 30 are joined into an integral unit bymeans of angle brackets and screws required for holding the variousparts together. The cart 10 is essentially built upon the shelf platform29 where two sets of quadruple holes are formed, and one of the rear setis represented by the holes X and one front set by the holes Y. Thequadruple holes of the platform 29 are arranged for aligning with thequadruple holes of the casters 20, 21, 22 and 23 when the latter arefixed to the cart 10. As previously discussed, the front casters 22, 23are non-swivable and are located upon that part of the cart 10 thatleads when moved from place to place or through a door; on the otherhand, the casters 20, 21 are swivable to allow for steering by thepusher or steerer of the cart.

The side panels 17, 18 are attached to the shelf platform 29 by means ofthe right angled brackets a, b, c, d and appropriate screws. As may benoted, the panels 17, 18 are cut at an angle upon respective edges 41,42 for reasons that will be clear in paragraphs hereinbelow. The panels17, 18 are located slightly inward a distance as represented by thenotch Z to provide a ledge 8a, 8b (see FIG. 3). The edge of the ledges8a, 8b are covered with a rubberized bumper 8c in order to protect thecart as well as doorways and furniture from damage.

Positioned upon the respective inside surfaces of sides 17, 18 arestrips 33, 34, 35 and 36 which include holes at either end forattachment by means of typical screws p, q. Adjustment pins such as pinsr, s, r', s' are provided for insertion into holes of the strips 33, 34,35 and 36 for support of the shelf 30 and to allow for easy adjustmentin height.

The cart 10 including the shelving 29, 30 is enclosed in the front bythe panel 9 which includes the doors 11, 12. The front panel 9 is alsopositioned inwardly to furnish a ledge 8 (see FIG. 3) whose widthdimension prevents the door knobs 15, 16 from being damaged as the cartpasses through a narrow entranceway. The panel 9 is provided with themultiple A.C. outlet 26 and is attached to the platform 30 and sidepanels 27, 28 via the typical angle brackets 1, 1', m, m', n, n'.

The top surface or shelf 25 is attached to the side panels 17, 18 andthe front panel 9 by way of the angle brackets g, g', h, h', i (see FIG.4), j and associated screws. The shelf 25 is positioned below the topedges 7, 41, 42 of respective sides 9,17 and 18 when fixed in positionas may be seen by referring to FIG. 1. As was previously discussed, theshelf 25 is located with respect to sides 9, 17, 18 in a manner toprovide edging 40 along the front and sides along the upper surface ofshelf 25; as understood, the edging 40 in combination with the edging 43prevents the various equipment located upon the shelf 25 from fallingonto the floor, which may be dangerous.

In order to have the facility for pushing the cart 10 from place toplace and through narrow entranceways, a handle bar 24 is provided whichis adjustable in height. The handle bar 24 is round in cross section andis positioned between the side members 24a, 24b for locating along theconnector pieces 37, 38 as may be further seen and understood in FIGS.3, 4. The connector pieces 37, 38 which include a plurality of holes walong the outside surfaces are held in position against the side panel17 by means of typical screw-type fasteners e, f. Appropriate holes vare provided along the cross members 24a, 24b for aligning with theholes w of the connector pieces 37, 38. Pins v, k (see FIG. 3) areprovided for holding and maintaining the handle 24 at an appropriate andcomfortable height for the instructor who is moving from classroom toclassroom.

Referring to FIG. 3, which is a cross sectional view taken along line3--3 of FIG. 1, there is clearly represented the relationship of theoutline of the sides 9, 17, 18 with respect to outwardly projectingledges 8, 8a, 8b; furthermore, the sectional view of FIG. 3 illustratesthe protective rubberized member 8c that is attached to the ledges toprevent damaging walls, doorways and furniture when the cart 10 is intransit.

In the sectional view of FIG. 4 a view is taken from the back of thecart 10 where the music instructor is usually positioned. Since the backof the cart is open the ease with which the internal shelves 29, 30 canbe accessed is clearly visible. The back of the doors 11, 12 positionedon the front of the cart are also seen and clearly illustrate howmaterials on the shelves 29, 30 are hidden from view from those sittingin front in order to avoid being distracted. The rubberized bumper 8cmay also be viewed with respect to the overhang or ledge 8a, 8b whichare employed for protective purposes.

The adjustability via the alignment holes w in the side member 24a, 24band connector pieces 37, 38 of the handle 24 for pushing, pulling andsteering the cart 10 is also clearly visible to the observer.

This invention has been described by reference to precise embodimentsbut it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that thisinvention is subject to various modifications and to the extent thatthose modifications would be obvious to one of ordinary skill they areconsidered as being within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising:(a) a cart device havinga front and a pair of side planar sections as well as a rearward openingand a generally rectangular cross section for transporting mechanicaland electronic items from place-to-place; (b) a plurality of shelveslocated in said device wherein one such shelf comprises an uppermostsurface of said cart, and at least one other shelf being located undersaid top shelf and adjustable in an upward and downward direction withrespect to said side sections such that all of said shelves areaccessible from said front and rearward sides; (c) door means, (d) saiddoor means being located in said front side for hiding any contentslocated upon said under shelf from viewers; and (e) said topmost shelfbeing integrally formed and extending outwardly from said rectangularcross section laterally of said rearward opening and at a height whichis easily accessible to the hands of a person in a normal standingposition; (f) said front and said pair of side planar sections extendingabove said topmost shelf and forming an edge surrounding said topmostsurface to prevent accidental falling upon the ground of items placedupon said shelf; (g) a plurality of electrical outlets attached to saidedge for providing alternating current power for said items; (h) meansattached to the bottom of said cart for easily steering said device fromplace-to-place; and (j) means surrounding at least three sides of saiddevice for preventing damage to said cart and to various stationary ormovable items in the path of said cart when moving from location tolocation.
 2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 and furthercomprising:a bar handle adjustable in a vertical direction located uponan outside surface of said cart and against one of the shorter sides ofsaid rectangular cross-sectioned cart for steering said apparatus. 3.The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 and further comprising:two setsof casters located upon the corners of the undersurface of said cart,wherein one set of casters is located under said handle pivot and areable to pivot, whereas the remaining casters are located opposite saidhandle and do not pivot.
 4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 3 andfurther comprising:a member including pivotable doors for attaching tosaid device for enclosing one side of said shelf under said topmostshelf.
 5. A kit assembly for a cart comprising:(a) first and secondsubstantially equal dimensioned rectangular members; (b) a front and arear set of equally dimensioned casters wherein said rear set isswivable and said front set is non-swivable, said sets of casters beingattachable to said first rectangular member through holes providedtherein; (c) first and second four-sided members having one side cut atan angle and adapted to be joined to said first and second rectangularmembers with angle brackets and screws; (d) first and second adjustablebrackets for vertical positioning upon said first and second sidemembers to allow said second rectangular member to become adjustable;(e) third and fourth adjustable connectors for attachment to the outsideof said respective first or alternately second side members; (f) ahandle for joining with said third and fourth connectors for adjustingto a comfortable height; (g) door means; (h) a front panel for receivingsaid door means and adapted for enclosing one side of said secondadjustable shelf; (i) an integrally formed rectangular shelf havingdimensions which may be joined to said first and second side members andto said front panel below their respective top edges, said rectangularshelf having dimensions which cover said second rectangular member andextend outwardly beyond the dimensions of said cart and directlyopposite from said front panel; (j) edge members extending above oneside and partially along two adjacent sides of said rectangular shelf;and (k) a female electrical connector attached to one of said edgemembers for receiving male electrical connectors; (l) angle bracket andscrews for holding and attaching said rectangular shelf to said frontpanel and said first and second side members.